Tag: Kelly McAdams

And a little child shall lead them…

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Earth Day, Educational, Who's saving beavers now? April 17, 2017

Let me start right off by being all meta and saying might just notice something new this morning. It’s the appearance of our ‘links’ which was kindly updated by a new beaver friend who happened to cross our paths. Christopher R. Scharf is a web designer and avid wildlife photographer who contacted me after the recent Times article hoping to photograph beavers. I introduced him to Rusty took him on a beaver trek and afterwards suggested he might not be adverse to lending a little hand. So Chris spent a couple weekends peering at the funky CSS on this site and tweaking the way links appeared (like that one right back there, watch what happens when you scroll over it with your cursor) so they would be easier for you, the very important readers of this page, to follow.

Because beaver friends come and many mysterious packages. Thank you, Chris!

Websites and technology are so important when it comes to saving beavers. Just look at this film which was made of the recent 4th grade visit to the Draper Utah wetlands by the Mapps lab with the Childrens Media Workshop. They even incorporate our favorite clip from Leave it to Beavers with our friends Suzanne Fouty and Carol Evans. Ahh, Jari Osborne’s masterpiece really is the gift that keeps on giving! Looks like Kelly visited the classroom first, then students visited his property to learn about the wetlands in Draper, Utah.

I particularly love the teachers in this video, who are patient, cheerful and informed about all the way beavers matter. Not to mention the students, who all deserve to attend their very own beaver festival soon. On Earthday the McAdams family will allow visitors to their property to see the wetlands for themselves. He is doing an expansive, admirable job to keep what matters. Here’s another video slideshow made about the day and sent by the class System Support Coach, Patti White. Why not leave some nice comments so they know how wonderful this is?

And they say one person can’t make a difference…

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Earth Day, Educational, Environmental, Tail slap, Who's saving beavers now? April 15, 2017

You know sometimes, your hard work gets ignored or something you wrote and really feel proud of gets tossed aside as “grey literature”, or a program you really hoped would say good things advises folks that flow devices never work and they should eat beavers, and you think, maybe this is just too hard. Maybe saving beavers is too much work. Maybe it can’t be done or if it can be, it needs some one better than me to do it. And you think about throwing in the beaver towel once and for all.

And then you see something like THIS and it changes your whole attitude.

Draper homeowners fight to preserve backyard wetlands despite flood risks

DRAPER — Dozens of students from Oakwood Elementary gathered in the backyard of a Draper residence Friday to see a beaver dam that may soon disappear.

Kris and Kelly McAdams are hoping their backyard wetlands ecosystem can stay, despite calls to remove the natural beaver dams behind their home. While the McAdams see the wetlands as a beautiful feature that adds value to their property, Salt Lake County Flood Control officials are concerned that a failed beaver dam could clog man-made drainage downstream.

The McAdamses received notice from flood control engineers on Christmas Eve, asking them to remove an “unauthorized deposit of materials,” the beaver dams that they say have been around for years.

“They say the beaver dams are unstable structures, although these have been here for at least 20 years and they have withstood hundreds of high-water events over that time,” Kelly McAdams said. “The dams are well-built here and rather than removing them, they could fortify them, and I suggested putting in a grate system downstream.”

Despite his assertions, county flood control officials worry that debris from the dams could flow down Willow Creek, clog a culvert and cause flooding to nearby homes.

Alyson Heyrend, communications director for Mayor Ben McAdams, said Salt Lake County’s Flood Control authorities have the responsibility of keeping streams and channels clear of any obstructions.

She said a compromise was offered to the property owners near the dams to support the wetland features while removing the dams, but Kris and Kelly McAdams have maintained their opposition to the removal.

They have appealed the notice to remove the dams and have rejected the compromise offer, taking their case before an administrative law judge, who will rule in early May on whether the beaver dams will be removed.

Rep. Carol Spackman-Moss, D-Holladay, also arrived to lend her support to the property owners.

“The county needs to look at the bigger picture, and see the effect that it would have on the wetlands,” Spackman-Moss said. “For these students to come out here and see what they have been studying and get a sense of the damage it would do and how this would all disappear, they would lose something so valuable.”Confe

Spackman-Moss said the county would need to address the issue, and said council members for Salt Lake County ought to come see the property for themselves as they address property and public issues.

Confession coming: either tears of joy are streaming down my face or I just climaxed twice. (Or possibly both). Oh my goodness! This is POWERFUL stuff. Spackman-Moss is a democrat from the 37th district, life long teacher and grandmother. And the class full of fourth graders are FOURTH graders who wrote save the beavers on their hats!

I need to sit down.

In my conversation with Kelly on Saturday I had lots of praise for what he was doing. And two learned-the-hard-way pieces of advice. Have his attorney talk to Mitch, and BRING CHILDREN. “We didn’t know it would be so powerful” I told him truthfully. But it always is. Kelly’s a father with grown sons. But I told him to find some youth. Boy scouts, kindergarten, daisy princesses, and have Allison work with them to draw pictures, make hats, what ever activity that looks cute enough for the media to take photos of.

And guess what?

Kelly you are doing an awesome, awesome job. I’m so impressed with your ability to pull this together, not get intimidated or overwhelmed and still seem so very reasonable. You are a credit to your state and a true kindred spirit of Martinez. I would only offer one criticism at all, and that is that last Earth day OUR hats were a little cuter. 🙂

Oh and for those who might be interested I sent these comments and corrections to the edible beaver program Outside/In yesterday. Felt good to get it off my chest and even if it changes no one’s mind, I dare say someone will definitely read it anyway.

proof

These are a few of my favorite beaver things!

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Dispersal, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? April 13, 2017

Homeowners, Salt Lake County battle over beaver dams

I heard from Kelly yesterday that they had received help from a local non-profit to access the media and knew this was coming. My my my this is a splendid report, that emphasizes the whole ‘home as castle’ argument that appeals to the manly provider heartstrings. Never mind the California saving habitat nancy-boy argument. If you haven’t watched it you should, and if you want to help their efforts you can donate and/or sign the petition here:

“We’re always watching ducks and geese come in for takeoffs and landings on the creek,” McAdams said. “It’s a beautiful thing to see and experience.”

“Striking the balance is the real challenge here,” Graham said. “We’ve had discussions. There are options. Beaver dams are not an option because they’re naturally made, they’re not secure, but there are options to create the same type of effects (behind McAdams and his neighbor’s houses).”

26172854 — Two homeowners are in a fight with Salt Lake County to keep the beaver dams behind their properties that have contributed to a rich wetland environment full of ducks, geese, birds, muskrats and other wildlife. (KSL TV)

McAdams said prior to the Dec. 24 notice, the county had made separate offers to deliver $500 and then $5,000 worth of rock to install around the creek, but he believes the delivery and installation would cause more harm to his property along with the wetland.

“To destroy nature like that with total disregard, it just frustrates me to no end,” McAdams said.

He said he could face fines amounting to roughly $750 per month if he does not agree to have the dams removed.

“(Salt Lake County) Flood Control intends to drain a jurisdictional wetland and displace all this wildlife when there are easy alternatives that can be performed on dams and downstream debris mitigation,” McAdams said.

“If I didn’t feel strongly, I would have given up a long time ago,” McAdams said. “I feel very strongly about this.”

Ahh Kelly, we know JUST how you feel. Way to go! You and Erin are fighting the good fight. The one that matters. And while you do it you are teaching your entire community why beaver dams matter. You have all our support, and anything else you need we’ll try and send your way!

Meanwhile I never tire of stories about brave dispersers or an opportunity to re-post THIS picture.

Ontario highway closed as wandering beaver refuses to leave

CAMBRIDGE, Ont. – A wandering beaver shut down part of a highway in southern Ontario on Wednesday as police worked to get the animal back to its natural habitat.

Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt says the beaver was spotted sitting on a storm drain against a concrete dividing barrier on Highway 7/8 in Cambridge, Ont.

Schmidt says officers blocked part of the highway and tried to shoo the animal across the road to the ditch. But he says the beaver was having nothing of it and refused to move from the left side of the highway.

He says police had an officer stay with the beaver to ensure it was OK and called in wildlife control. Schmidt says wildlife control was able to capture the beaver and bring him back home.

“No one got hurt, and everybody’s happy,” Schmidt said.

And people wonder why everyone says Canadians are so nice. I’m not sure there’s anywhere else they’d close a highway for a beaver. (Although if I were emperor they ALL would). You know that beaver wasn’t impressed I’m sure. He didn’t want to go back on that side of the road. “That’s where I came from! If I go back home now they’ll all laugh at me!”

A day of rest

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers April 9, 2017

Yesterday was BUSY as a you know what. It truly felt like beaver central around here. I heard from the author of the Salt Lake Tribune story that Joe Wheaton had testified before his trip to Europe already. He wanted information about flow devices and who installed ours. I spent the afternoon writing a letter to the court for the Draper wetland and ended the day with a phone call from Kelly McAdams himself.

We talked about how crazy busy things were right now for him (ahh memories!), how the media is beating down his door, and how to use that momentum for it’s advantage. They mayor was originally in his camp but recently waffled into opposition. In fact most of the officials privately offer their support but won’t disagree publicly with Flood Control. Sierra Club won’t return his calls. The McAdams are planning a field trip to show the public the wetlands and let them see how special it is. I suggested adding some children’s groups and having them draw the wildlife they saw. (Because we all know how effective that is). Maybe a ‘library night’ to teach about beavers and the wetlands they maintain. I also suggested making friends with the local Audubon and Ducks Unlimited and making sure they understood how important beaver habitat was to their interests. Mitch the famed attorney who represented the friends of Lake Skinner case sent some ideas about arguing “Inverse Condemnation“

since the debris allegedly constituting the violation is naturally occurring and has produced a beneficial effect for the property, removal would be detrimental and reduce the value of the property.

which I made sure Kelly knew about so his probono attorney could connect with Mitch if he wanted to. There are no new stories this morning, so I’m sure the couple is having a well-deserved restful day.

And me too.

Right after I finish a short interview with San Francisco State student Sarahbeth Maney who is doing her third year photojournalism project on Martinez residents with a passionate interest (ha!) and contacted me after the times article.

I heard from author Susan Wood this week with answers about her Skydiving Beaver book, so I thought today was a perfect time to share them.

How did you hear about this story and what got you interested in it?

One day my tween daughter casually mentioned that after World War II, leftover parachutes were used to airdrop beavers into the wilderness, that she’d seen it on TV. I didn’t think that could possibly be true, that maybe she’d misunderstood what she’d seen. But she insisted that it really happened. So I Googled it—and was totally blown away (no pun intended). Skydiving beavers was really a thing! More research ensued, and when I learned about Geronimo, the beaver used to test prototypes of the self-opening parachute box—that he seemed to actually enjoy the skydives—I just knew this would make a great children’s book. Fortunately, Sleeping Bear Press, which publishes many nature-related children’s titles, thought so too. Beavers are such amazing animals, and I’m excited to help make people more aware of them!

Your book does a nice job of introducing us to Elmo Heter, did you get to meet him? Is he still living?

Unfortunately, Elmo Heter, the Idaho Fish and Game warden who dreamed up this unusual wildlife-relocation idea in 1948, died in 1967. But the book’s illustrator, Gisbert “Nick” van Frankenhuyzen, was in touch with Elmo’s son, and also with Idaho Fish and Game’s historian, to get all the details he could. Elmo was only with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game for a few years; in 1952 he moved to Alaska, where he taught arctic survival skills at Ladd Air Force Base.

I was surprised to see Martinez in the author’s notes section. How did you hear about our story?

As I was researching Elmo’s tale, I discovered he’d actually penned an article about it in a 1950 issue of The Journal of Wildlife Management. For a nonfiction writer, a primary source like that is gold! I Googled around looking for the article, and there it was, on your website. Then I read about the Martinez beavers and thought it was great information to include in the book, how people have now learned to work with beaver populations—for the benefit of the wildlife, the environment, and the community. No more airdrops, as inventive as the idea was at the time. You kindly allowed me to share on www.SkydivingBeavers.com some of your links for educators’ resources, and I’m most grateful. There are articles, activities, and recently discovered film footage of the 1948 beaver airdrop at the book’s site, as well.

I appreciated the illustrations. Had you worked with the illustrator before?

No, I wasn’t familiar with Nick’s work. But when the editor at Sleeping Bear sent me one of the other (of so many!) books he’s illustrated, The Legend of the Beaver’s Tail, it was obvious he was perfect for this project with his prior beaver-painting experience! Nick is known for his wildlife artwork. And he walks the walk—he and his wife took forty acres of Michigan farmland and turned it into a wildlife habitat. You can check it out at www.hazelridgefarm.com. Nick’s also a naturalist with an active school-visit program, teaching kids about wildlife and conservation. He traveled to most of the locations in The Skydiving Beavers—his paintings of the Idaho landscape and animals are just gorgeous.

“Beavers are the cure we don’t want to take.”

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? April 8, 2017

You’ve heard of a red letter day? Well yesterday was a red-beaver day. Here at beaver central we are good at picking up trends and regional changes. We’re usually at the front of the line when it comes to hearing good news. But I’ll be honest, I never expected this.

Draper Fight Centers On Beaver Dams, Wetlands, Flood Control

Two, small beaver dams lie at the heart of a quarrel in Draper. County flood officials are ordering residents to take them down. But the homeowners say the dams protect the wildlife and value of their homes.

Kelly McAdams says the notice of violation letter came on Christmas Eve.

“Inspection by Salt Lake County Flood Control,” he says, reading from the letter, “has indicated that fallen tree limbs and debris have been deposited in the form of a beaver dam into Big Willow Creek, a county-wide drainage facility, without authorization.”

Next month, McAdams goes before an administrative law judge and expects to lose, considering beavers and wetlands have no standing in county law. But he and his wife are set on preserving this patch of habitat for the beavers and all the other creatures that rely on this wetland wonderland.

Make sure you listen to the story which made NPR this morning and sign the petition, then check out SLTribune.

Leave it to beaver? No way, says Salt Lake County

Draper • Big Willow Creek bends and meanders behind Kelly McAdams’ Draper home and her backyard steps down into an urban wildlife preserve.

Thanks to a string of beaver dams, the creek pools into wetlands teaming with life. Ducks and geese nest on the banks lined with cattails; herons and pelicans visit to dine on the 18-inch carp and catfish. Neighborhood kids also fish the ponds.

But where McAdams, his wife, Kris Burns, and neighbors on Dunning Court see an ecological sanctuary, Salt Lake County sees “unauthorized modifications to a countywide drainage facility.”

The county Division of Flood Control has ordered them to remove the dams or face a $25-a-day fine, even though federal wildlife officials say these dams enhance the water quality, hydraulics and riparian habitat

The waterways and channels need to be clear and run and serve their purposes. There is a balancing act,” Graham said. “The county has demonstrated many times it balances wildlife habitat on creeks and waterways as they run through the city.”

Graham has overruled McAdams’ appeal, which is slated to go before an administrative law judge on April 26.

Because my life is just like that I had already heard about this case from the real estate agent representing them who contacted me on April 1 looking for supportive letters to the court on the issue of beavers, water storage, and biodiversity. I put out the usual appeal for help to our beaver friends in Utah but with this new flurry of news I heard this morning from Mary Obrien who is on it. Joe Wheaton is in Europe but I’m hoping he can contribute or at least assign a student to do so. I also heard from our retired attorney friend who won the famous Lake Skinner Beaver case at the appellate level that he would be happy to talk to them and has some ideas to pursue.

“You have all these ecosystem services that keep the entire stream corridor functioning as it should,” said Jones, with the Wild Utah Project. “Many other municipalities across the county are starting to allow beavers back to perform this critical engineering service.”

Meanwhile I know Worth A Dam will write something and mention how a Contra Costa County Flood Control Specialist was on our beaver subcommittee and approved the flow device that controlled flooding and washouts for nearly a decade. I have personally contacted everyone I can think of that might help ‘circle the wagons’ in this case, but more is always needed. If you want to help, email me and I’ll give you contact info. The entire Tribune article is excellent and even talks about flow devices but y requires a little persistent to get past their subscriber wall.

Meanwhile, completely independently but not unrelated, I heard from Michael Pollock yesterday about this prayer-answering article from the unlookedfor source of BeefProducer newsletter. No seriously. It is beautifully written by Editor Alan Newport and he starts out with one of the VERY best lines I’ve ever read. Send this article to every old curmudgeon you know who won’t listen to reason.

In defense of beavers

To reverse streambed erosion the hated beaver is the most likely candidate.

Beavers are the cure we don’t want to take.

No matter how much we improve our grazing, no matter how many water-control structures we build, our streams and other watercourses will cut deeper and deeper into the landscape, robbing us of soil and drying out our pastures and fields.

It took me many years of study and observation to come to this point in my thinking, but today there is no longer any question in my mind. Read on and you’ll learn why I say so.

I’m almost 60 years old and throughout those years I’ve watched the streams cut deeper and deeper into the soil near my home. On my uncle and aunt’s farm, the little rocky crossing we walked across and drove tractors across and rode horses across without a thought disappeared years ago into a gulch. The entire creek today is much deeper than it was, and so is every other creek, stream and wash I know of.

So the question, I reasoned, was what process had previously stopped this from being a natural course of events that outpaced the normal upturn of new soil through movement of the earth’s crust?

In North America, the only answer I‘ve ever found was … beavers! They once lived by the millions in every state in the union, and new evidence says their homeland stretched across much of Mexico and into the arctic tundra of Canada. I have more recently learned beavers also were common across Europe and Asia.

With all this in our knowledge base now, it seems if beavers were the agent of change and good in streams for hundreds of thousands of years before we arrived, then they could be and should be again. They work day and night, like the cow, without us lifting a finger.

I understand that beavers are a pain in the neck, but so is erosion and droughty land.

I have no particular love for beavers, but I do love the land and God’s creation. It’s my understanding we are to be stewards in His image. So here I stand, saying kind things about one of the most hated creatures in the world of agriculture.

Go read the whole article. And then read it again. It’s really well written and contains an impressive amount of research. It’s even more impressive when you realize that Alan is the editor of BeefProducer and lives in Oklahoma. Meanwhile I’m going to be busy thinking up a graphic for that AWESOME first line and writing my amicus brief to the court in Utah.

Then I may just lie back and smoke a cigarette. This has been an incredible morning.